1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of luggage, suitcases, and to pushcarts and carts, and particularly to wheeled luggage with handlebars to facilitate movement and, stacking of additional luggage or items.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many different types of luggage, garment bags, suitcases, and the like with wheels have been developed to facilitate transportation or movement without the need for additional equipment, carts, or wagons, or the services of additional personnel. For example, upright luggage having two wheels near a bottom edge and a pair of handles by which the luggage may be pulled are well-known to make it more convenient for a person, such as a passenger in an airport or using mass transportation to move or transport the luggage. These are sometimes informally referred to as “wheelie bags.” Also known are more traditional “flat” suitcases with four or more wheels at or near a bottom surface to facilitate movement and handling.
Further, carts for luggage, including pushcarts, have been developed and used for some time. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,773 discloses a luggage cart upon which luggage may be placed with two wheels and a collapsible handlebar. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,892 discloses a four-wheeled pushcart for luggage.
However, a problem remains that often a person travels with more than one suitcase, bag, garment bag, duffel bag, accessories or the like, and therefore even in the unlikely event that they all have wheels and handlebars, it is difficult for one person to transport or lug them.
Often pushcarts may be rented for a fee at airports, for example, on which luggage may be stacked and moved. However, renting such pushcarts requires finding, paying for, and returning the cart, often in a place such as an unfamiliar airport where the passenger lacks change or local currency or does not speak the local language. Further finding and renting such a rentable pushcart may require that the person leave the heavy luggage or several piece of travel items in unfamiliar, unattended, or unsafe place in order to find, rent, and bring back the rentable pushcart. Also, such rentable pushcarts may be bulky or unwieldy, or may be larger than required for the luggage than the passenger needs to move.
A further problem with many upright suitcases with two wheels and a handlebar is that such suitcases are often designed to be pulled behind the passenger, rather than pushed. Such suitcases often are designed to be pulled such that the passenger holds the handlebar with one hand behind him or her and with the suitcase supported on the bottom on two wheels. Thus the user can not watch the suitcase being pulled or any items strapped to it to verify that the wheels do not get stuck and items strapped to it do not slide off. A related problem is that such suitcases are designed to be pulled using one hand, a potentially difficult situation if the passenger is frail, sick, or elderly, or if the surface upon which the luggage is being pulled is uneven or rough.
Accordingly, there is a long-felt need to provide a piece of luggage that is easily portable either by itself or with other pieces of luggage and which may be convertible from one mode of operation to another depending on the user's needs.